Beautiful Eyes
by KyraReid
Summary: It started with death, and from death, new life. From there it was terror, love and survival. Only someone had to die. Hitomi was not going to let it be her family.
1. Chapter 1

I knew I had died. I had been there after all. You don't magically forget stuff like that. But where I went afterwards was frankly not what I had been expecting.

You see, one of my many side jobs had been a minister for a coexist organization. I was not an active one, I did not hold ceremonies, I did not hold worship services. Nothing of that sort. I just talked to people. Not the 'Shove my beliefs down your throat' talking. But the talking you do when people are troubled or just need an open ear to pay attention to them. Muslims, Christians, Pagans, Buddhists, Atheists, and all sorts of eclectic people. Gays, straight people, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, male, female, transgender, transfluid, healthy and sick people. It did not matter to me. There was a running joke that even with my glasses I was too blind to see the difference. Not that there was to me. For me, a person was simply that.

I myself was an eclectic. I had thought I would be going to the Summerlands. But where I wound up was nothing like that. I was not a bad person. The worst I ever did was call off from work at my main job pretending to be sick so I could read some more. So many I went over the speed limit a few times. I only had two tickets and one car crash by the age of twenty-one. That's a lot better than some people I knew.

I worked in retail and loved my job. I worked first for a high end boutique before they had to close down and move to some place with a better customer base. I modeled for them too. Then I worked for an accessory store. Lots and lots of pretty sparkly necklaces and crowns. I was an unofficial fashion adviser to many people who knew me. I knew my clothes and accessories like the back of my hand and could pick out an outfit for someone for any occasion right down to the shoes and earrings.

I was also a professional Beauty Consultant. I did make up and facials for people. I taught them how to put on makeup correctly and how to best care for their skin. Hair styling was the only thing I was not able to do. There were always little flyways no matter how hard I tried, but at least I could make it stay healthy. Painting nails was a little iffy at times. Anything other than a basic coat turned out messy. Unless it was water marble. I got that down to a professional level.

I was a budding herbalist, still taking my courses. I could remember most of what I read but when it came to actually identifying the plants in the wild, I could only pick out a handful. But I was learning.

I had a partial college education in English writing and psychology. I would have gone back to college in a few months under a new business major, but dying derailed that plan.

I was a jack of all trades but a master of few. I was single and still living at home. I had a cat that I adopted. I was not remarkable in any true sense. I was not a bad person but I was not a saint either. I liked drinking from time to time and I had a snappy attitude. I had anxiety and an electrolyte deficiency, causing me to faint sometimes if I was too stresses. Or excited, like when a book I had been waiting for for almost a year came out. In my defense it was a really good series.

But when I died, none of that mattered. It was just dark. Dark and warm, if a little tight at times.

* * *

 **A/N: Someone yell at me. I should not be starting a new fic. SI story obviously.**

 **Fun Fact: I actually do all of that.**

 **Review loves, tell me if it catches your interest.**


	2. Chapter 2

Honestly, I don't know why rebirth never occurred to me. Probably because I figured you lost your memories of your previous life when you were reborn. I retained everything. Floating in darkness, while warm and comfortable, even more so compared to the way I had died (a car crash in winter at night is not something I recommend), it was incredibly boring. I could only pass time with my mind by reviewing fact and things I knew. Not horribly exciting when most of it was now useless. Dead people don't need fashion and pretty makeup designs.

But at some point, things began to change.

* * *

Things began to get a little tighter. Not enough to be uncomfortable yet, but enough to be noticeable. Then my body began to feel weird. See, when I had died, I could no longer move my body. But now it felt like your limbs do when they fall asleep and then you move them. It was highly annoying, even more so when I was unable to rub them to make them feel better. Then I began to hear muffled noises. Sounds I could not identify. All the while, my space was slowly but surely getting smaller. Then I moved.

It was nothing major, but it was more than I had been able to do in a very long time. Hands began to clench and unclench. I could start to move my arms and legs out a little. But none of it was substantial, until at one point something pressed on my surroundings _from the other side_. It startled me enough that I kicked out, harder than I had before. The muffled sounds I had been hearing before suddenly became louder, but it was never enough for me to make out what the noises were. I thought they were voices.

There was more pressing from the other side, and I knew there were others. I knew I was not alone here and _I had to get out_. I pushed back with all my might. But I was weak and could make no noise. Gradually the noises from the other side faded and they stopped pressing back. I was alone again. The loneliness bore down on me.

* * *

As time went on, I began to notice more and more things. The thing I was in carried the same type of feeling as the one I felt running through me, only as I got used to it, it was less and less uncomfortable and more and more soothing. Off and on, the others on the other side would press against my confinement I could hear more muffled sounds. I began to pick out their presence. There were three or four of them that came back time after time. It gave me hope. Someone out there had not given up on me.

Maybe as I got stronger, I would be able to push my way out with their help.

* * *

It was during one of the lonelier moments when something happened. There was a much stronger push from the other side. Far stronger than what I had ever felt before. And I hurt. Like I had been crushed. It was then that everything began to change.

There was a constrictive feeling. The walls around me were closing in on me, tighter and tighter. The muffled sounds around me grew to an all-time high. Not enough to make out words, but enough that I knew they were voices. I was being pushed through something and it hurt. Suddenly I knew that this should not be happening. I fought to stay in my safe spot.

I don't know how long it went on but it hurt so much, getting worse and worse each time.

Then suddenly the pushing stopped and I was free. It was cold and bright and loud. I still hurt and I was screaming. In the background I could hear a baby crying.

I felt something large pick me up and it was then I finally opened my eyes. There was a huge person holding me. I screamed. Only it was a baby who screamed. That baby I hear in the background had been me.

* * *

When the doctors finally cleaned me up and returned me to the woman I guessed was my mother, I was beyond worn out. I could make out a few words like premature and lucky. That hard shove had been someone running into mother, causing her to go into early labor. I guessed that it could not have been too early, considering I was not in an incubator. But it had been early enough to make them worry.

Mother cooed tiredly at me and nearby I felt the presence of the ones who had always been nearby. There was another woman who looked vaguely familiar and two young boys. I could hardly make out any details. I baby's eyes are not the most developed ones.

Beside my mother was a man I guessed to be my father. As mother began to fall asleep he picked me up from her arms. It was then that I decided I liked him. His eyes were tired looking but looked happy and proud all at once. I knew he loved mother and me. I had been born into a good family at least.

Mother had long black hair and dark colored eyes. She fair skinned and beautiful, even after giving birth. Father had shorter, almost wild, black hair and onyx eyes. He was a little darker than mother but still pale, making the creases under his eyes more noticeable. His arms were warm too. Warm and safe, until he spoke.

"Hitomi. My little Uchiha Hitomi."

 _What?_

I stared at the man who held me until it sunk in. Then the waterworks started once more. Later I would feel bad about the lost look the man had on his face, but right now I had bigger problems.

Uchiha. Mother fucking Uchiha. I was going to die. I knew where I was now. I knew what was going to happen. I was born just to die again.

My wails could be heard all the way down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a long while before I was able to calm down. I made myself sick many times during that period. I would manage to get myself together and then it would start all over again. It was hard, you know?

I had no control over my body functions, which was gross by the way. I had to drink from a bottle, which tasted like filth and smelled bad. I had refused to breast feed right from the beginning. I could not talk other than gurgles and crying. And my range of motion was just barely considered flailing. On top of it all, I always felt cold. I wondered if it had to do with the way I had died. I wound up staying in the hospital far longer than normal due to my unnatural amount of wailing. I almost felt bad at the time for my new parents.

That feeling that I felt while I was in the womb was chakra, I knew that now. It was apparent right from the beginning that I was going to be sensitive to it. The first time the doctors had used their mystic palm on me, it had freaked me out enough to start a whole new wave of crying. It did not hurt but damn was it uncomfortable.

I remembered in my previous life we learned about babies and their behavior in psychology. Their eyes were unable to see clearly until they were about a year old, but my eye sight was pretty clear. Not perfect, but good. Apparently being an Uchiha had some perks. It helped me pick out people.

Now one thing that made me curious was why I could understand their words. Naruto was in Japanese, and I could say maybe one sentence in that. But the more I thought about it the more I was able to rationalize it.

The Naruto-verse was in Japanese but there was English Dub. Meaning I could understand what they were saying, even if I could not understand any of the writing around me.

* * *

As the days went by, I realized why the woman who had been in the room when I was born looked familiar. Uchiha Mikoko was my aunt. Fugaku was my father's brother. Which meant the two boys in the room had been Itachi and Shisui. I came to find out that Shisui's father was my mother's older brother. Itachi's and Shisui's mothers were sisters. The three of us were first cousins and the intermarriage of the clan made me cringe a little.

The two little boys were often with Mikoto, who often came to visit the hospital during the few weeks I was kept there. Mother and Father were almost always there as well. There was no Sasuke yet, and I knew Mikoto was not pregnant because I could not feel another chakra in her. So Itachi could only have been two or three at this point. Shisui had not even started the academy yet.

The two who would be hailed as the prodigies of the Uchiha clan were small children right now. All pudgy and wide eyed. Well, not pudgy, but they still had some baby fat on their small frames. The two of them were incredibly adorable.

I was nice enough to let Shisui hold me. No tears and no fidgeting. Something that apparently made all the adults grateful, because I was soon released from the hospital and Shisui became my main babysitter. It was only because of those two boys that I was able to accept my fate.

* * *

Since I had been kept in the hospital for so long, Mother had already been cleared to go back to work. She worked as a secretary for the police force while Father himself was a police officer and shinobi.

While the two of them were busy at work, it was often Mikoto who watched over me with Itachi and Shisui. Sometimes it would be over at Shisui's house, and sometimes it would be at mine. On the rare occasion it would be just the three of us kids with Shisui in charge.

Those times were few, and even though the young boy proved himself to be proficient in holding a baby and feeding and dutifully changing diapers, no matter how often he cringed, he was still a child. To me, I should have been the one taking care of him, not the other way around. But I was stuck in an infant's body.

* * *

After I had stopped my crying fits, I was a very good child. For my parents, Mikoto, Fugaku, Shisui, Itachi, and Kou, Shisui's dad. No one else was safe from my crying fits. I wanted nothing to do with anyone else and I most certainly did not want them holding me. Something that was quickly noted by my family.

I was an Uchiha and shinobi clan children were expected to develop faster than a civilian child, but I may have surprised even my own parents. I often talked to myself, though most it came out as gurgles. I needed to be able to communicate. I was sick of diapers and the mess that came with them.

Being in the shinobi world was dangerous. People die like it's nothing here. Itachi may be cute and cuddly now, but one day he was going to wipe out the clan. I was not ready to die yet.

It was because of this that I began to push myself. Sitting up, crawling, and picking things up. Fear drove me to move. Not because I wanted to be a hero. Not because I wanted to save everyone. Fear pushed me. I was scared to die again. I was also scared to be alone. My cousins rarely left my side anymore. My parents probably thought I liked the two boys more than I did them. I could not help it. Adult I may have been, but my body was now that of a baby. And sometimes babies cry uncontrollably.

My attachment to Itachi and Shisui would be dangerous one day, but right now, I could not help it. I was an infant. I was scared and confused most of the time and they were always there, holding me and comforting me. They were my safety blankets.


	4. Chapter 4

I was around eight or nine months when I began walking. It was one of the rare occasions when Itachi's family had come over and Shisui and his dad were there. The adults were seated at the table talking and Itachi and Shisui were nearby. For some reason I was seated on the ground alone. I was playing with a puzzle, working on my coordination. I knew it was designed to help children be shinobi faster, but it really did help my coordination so I put up with it.

I had just finished it and wanted to show my older cousins. Really, even though I was older than them, as a child I wanted nothing more than to impress them. I liked showing off for my cousins and they showered me with praise and bright smiles.

But when I looked up they were seated away from me. I huffed. Carefully I picked up the wooden puzzle I had fitted together and stood up. It was a simple wooden stacker with one center post. But as you put more and more of the flat wooden disks on, more holes began to appear. It was in those holes that you added more posts. It was a simple concept designed for children that required some thought and coordination to get done.

After I had stood up I took my first step. Then another. I was so focused on my feet and not falling or dropping the thing in my hands that I failed to notice everyone had gone quiet and was watching me.

I had gotten half way across the room when I finally toppled back onto my bottom. The force of it was enough to jar the puzzle from my hands where it fell to the ground, almost completely dismantled. There was a heartbeat of tense silence as I stared at the puzzle. Everyone knew what was about to happen.

Shisui and Itachi were by my side just seconds after my wails started. Dear sweet Shisui tried to comfort me.

"Shhh, it's ok Hitomi, don't cry. You did really well. You can make it again, we saw it." Shisui cooed as he pat my hair. Little Itachi was patting my back sympathetically. Even he fell sometimes if he moved too fast.

None of us noticed the adults looking at each other. While it was not uncommon for a child in the clan to walk early, few could walk so far unassisted at eight months.

* * *

After that first time, Mother and Father, or as I learned their names, Riko and Eiji, began making me practice walking more and more. Even Mikoto got in on it, placing things farther away from me.

It was only with Shisui and Itachi that I had fun learning. The two of them were just so bright and happy. They would hold my hands as we walked around the house and then the yard, preventing me from falling but still enabling me to get better at walking. By the time I was a year old I was running around on unsteady feet, chasing after Shisui with Itachi.

Then Shisui began attending the academy, spending less time during the day with us.

It was quickly found out that when we did not have Shisui there to occupy us, Itachi and I could get into a surprising amount of trouble.

Itachi had more curiosity than a cat, and I wanted to explore my new world. It was only because we were in the clan compound that others kept us from venturing out into the woods or into the village. To get out we had to pass other people. People who knew that a one year old and a three year old should not be out and about on their own. I'm surprised Mikoto and Mother did not have grey hair.

We were good kids. We just could not stay put.

* * *

It was one of the rare days that Mother had off from work when I surprise her once again. She had taken me out to the market with her, making me walk holding her hand of course, to do some shopping. Now that I was more mobile, I was more prone to getting dirty from falling, and I was growing too. I needed more clothes.

The market was small and in the Uchiha district, so there was little chance of anything happening, but though it all, mother kept a hold of my hand, not trusting my tendency to wander subconsciously.

Mother had stopped at one of the stalls to look at some vegetables when I saw him. Shisui must have just gotten out of the academy because he was wandering in the direction of home. I tugged on Mothers hand but got no response. I had often done that accidently when something caught my eye and I wanted to move closer. So she grew to ignore my tugging.

Shisui had not spotted me and if this continued then he would leave without seeing me. That simply would not do. I tugged on Mothers hand once more, only this time I pulled hard and ran, stumbling steps to my target.

I heard Mother call out my name in surprise but it was drowned out by my own voice.

"Shisui!" The surprised six year old turned just in time to catch me as I fell. I grinned up at him as I clung to him. The boy sighed and picked me up. I looked in Mothers direction.

She looked frazzled and a mix of surprise, worry and proud. I would not understand why until later.

"Mama! It's Shisui!" I was beaming. It had been a few days since I had seen the boy.

Mother sighed resignedly. "Good job, Hitomi. Shisui, would you like to come over?"

"If it's ok, Aunt Riko." If it was possible, I would have smiled even wider. As it was I just hugged Shisui tighter.

"Itachi too?" I asked Mother. It had been a while since the three of us played together. Mother only sighed.

"Yes, Hitomi, you can get Itachi to. Shisui, why don't you take her with you to get him? I'll take the groceries home." Shisui nodded and turned away.

He walked with me in his arms and I babbled away. It was only then that I noticed the tightening of his arms and the shielded way he held me. I stopped talking and looked around. People were looking at us. At me.

 _Oh. Oh no._

Something must have shown on my face because Shisui looked at me and smiled. It was too tight around the eyes though. I could see the fear in them. Fear and concern. For me.

"It's alright, Hitomi. I'm here."

In a clan known for pushing its children to be prodigies, not only had I said my first word clearly at just barely a year old, I had gushed out full sentences. In public.

Shisui was young, only six, but he was smart. He and Itachi were remarkable prodigies. He knew what had just happened and the attention I had just called to myself. Suddenly a lot of things began to make sense.

The way Itachi and Shisui were always by my side, whisking me off to play away from the adults. They knew I was smart. They knew what happened when you were too smart. My dear sweet boys had been trying to hide it from everyone. But they were just children and I had been oblivious.

Fear set in once more and I cried.

* * *

 **A/N: Review loves**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: NAME CHANGE! Previously a Wiccan, I changed my user name to KyraReid. This is the name I use for gaming and my deviant art and other miscellaneous things (I'm everywhere). This will make it easier for you guys to find me.**

* * *

In the year that followed, I was pressed by my family to improve on my motor skills and my speech. Verbally I had few problems. I had been a twenty something year old in college before I died after all. But my motor skills were lacking. Or at least they seemed to be lack due to my age. I was only two but I was expected to run ( which I could do now very well, thanks to the games I played with Itachi and Shisui), know basic taijutsu, and hold a kunai. I was two.

My hands were small, too small to hold the blade correctly. My body itself was small and weak. My taijutsu was pathetic. I should have been bothered that my family was pushing me, a two year old, like this. But mentally I was twenty-one. I did not see myself as a toddler. I was too scared to quit.

Itachi was four. The Third Shinobi War would hit soon.

* * *

I was home alone and in the backyard of my house when Shisui and Itachi found me. I was a mess and growing more and more upset.

Father had left me a chakra exercise to do while he and Mother were at work. It was a simple thing oh attaching a leaf to your forehead. I had seen Shisui do it many times as practice for the Academy. Even Itachi had done it a few times. But I could not get it.

Too little chakra or too much chakra. Each time was different with the same results. Either the leaf floated to the ground, or it was shredded and fell to the ground. The only time there had been a difference was when I had cut _myself_ with the chakra. The ground around me was spotted with torn leaves and a few drops of blood.

My head felt heavy, my eyes stung and every time I felt my chakra focus, it tingled. On top of it all I was cold, tired, hungry and unbelievable frustrated. Both of my cousins could do this. Physically yes I was two, but I was far older mentally, and Kakashi himself had been a genin at the age of _four_. I should be able to do this. I was so focused on it that I never sensed Itachi and Shisui coming.

"Hitomi!" Suddenly there was a wide eyed and fussing Shisui in my face with Itachi at his side.

"What happened? You're bleeding!"

The sight of my cousins caused the damn to break. Tears welled up and then I was crying uncontrollably. Shisui scooped me up and brought me inside. I felt impossibly cold, far colder than I ever had here.

"Find as many blankets as you can." I felt rather than heard Shisui tell Itachi. I finally stopped crying but I could not stop shaking. Why was I so cold?

"Hitomi." I noticed then that I was on my bed, tucked in on someone's lap.

"Hitomi, you need to focus, look at me." I made myself look at a panicked Shisui.

"'M' col'." I mumbled out, too cold to even speak properly. Right on cue, Itachi reappeared with extra blankets and some bandages. My head gave a painful throb as a reminder of my cut. I let out a miserable whine.

Shisui cooed as he held me and between the two of them, Itachi and Shisui managed to wrap me in blankets. Then, Itachi carefully cleaned my cut and bandaged it, giving me a smile and reassurances when I sniffled and whined from the pain.

Afterwards, Itachi climbed onto the bed and snuggled up next to me and Shisui. I basked in their warmth and the comfort their chakra gave me.

* * *

The three of us stayed like that for a while before Shisui spoke up.

"Hitomi, what were you doing?" I fiddled with a blanket as tears started to fill up my eyes again.

"Father gave me a chakra exercise." I sniffled again. It just was not fair. "But I couldn't do it." The last few words turned into a whine, causing the two boys on either side of me to pat me hair.

"Oh Hitomi." Shisui sighed, pulling me a little closer.

"Hitomi, Bright Eyes, that type of chakra practice is meant for Academy students. You should never, ever, do that alone. You haven't begun chakra training yet." Shisui smoothed down my hair.

"But you and Itachi can do it." I whimpered.

"Hitomi, Shisui and I are older than you. We have been trained for this already." It was Itachi who spoke up. But my illogical and unhappy brain was not done arguing yet.

"But that one person, Hatake-san, was a genin when he was four."

"And you are two." Itachi reminded me kindly. I sniffled.

"Besides, Hatake is weird; you don't want to be like him." Shisui added. I nodded miserably.

Any other arguments I had were cut off when a growling noise sounded out. I blinked when the two boys looked at me.

"I'm hungry."

* * *

I did not want to be left alone. On that I was adamant on. So within a few minutes I found myself on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and snuggled up to Itachi as we watched Shisui make some miso soup. I was still cold, but my shivering had gone down to something more manageable.

Shisui, despite his age, always made good food. I think it had to do with him only living with his dad. I once heard Mother complain about his cooking.

After the miso was finished, I awkwardly shuffled to the table with Itachi so we could eat. I wound up being lifted into my chair because with the blanket wrapped around me, I was unable to climb up like I normally did.

"I don't want to be two anymore." I announced as I struggled to free my hand from the blanket so I could eat. Mother would be mad if I got food on it.

Shisui laughed and Itachi smiled as they both dug into their meal.


	6. Chapter 6

I never recalled when I fell asleep, only that Shisui had me in his arms at one point and the next I was bolting upright at the sound of yelling. I looked out my window to see it was dark out, meaning I had been asleep for a while, several hours at least. Itachi and Shisui were gone by this point, though I could feel their lingering chakra if I focused. More shouting drew my attention. It was Mother and Father.

I had heard them argue before, most people in relationships do, but it was nothing like this. Mother rarely raised her voice, but now she was screaming at Father. I had mentioned once that I was a very curious child. Right now, that curiosity was peaking.

I muffled my chakra and creeped out of my room and down the hall towards the noise. I did not dare to get too close, but now I could hear what they were fighting about.

"She's two! Two years old, Eiji!"

"She's a prodigy and you know it! She needs to learn now while she can!"

"It should be supervised and suited for her age! Our daughter had chakra exhaustion! She cut her head open practicing something she had never been taught before because you told her too! She could have killed herself instead of suffering blood loss!"

"She doesn't have enough chakra to do any damage." There was a crash of something breaking and then Mother was shrieking at Father.

"Chakra sensitivity! Does it ring any bells!" She screamed. "She can feel it well enough to direct it forcefully!"

I crept back into my room, thoughts whirling.

* * *

In the safety of my bed I began to sort out my thoughts. According to Mother I had been in danger. Danger caused by Father's lack of explanation. If Shisui and Itachi had not shown up when they did, things could have turned out very differently. And I had never even thought about it.

I knew chakra exhaustion was bad and could be very dangerous, but I had never thought about it before.

An icy feeling grew in my stomach as I recalled what Father had told me before he left.

" _Itachi and Shisui would be proud of you if you could do this. They already can."_

Only now did I see the bitterness and jealousy in his words. He was jealous of his older brother having a prodigy for a son. Jealous that his brother-in-law had a prodigy for a son. Two boys, both hailed as prodigies from a young age.

I was his daughter. A girl, and both smaller and weaker than the two boys due to my age. But Father did not care.

The Curse of Hatred.

My stomach rolled before I finally fell back into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

The next time I woke up it was morning. The house was quiet but I could sense Mother in the kitchen. I climbed out of bed and walked towards her.

Mother was sitting at the table, papers strewn before her, and a cup of tea sat near her. She must have brought her work home with her. Slowly I began to recall things that should have been obvious to me.

When I was younger and had gotten sick, it was mother who had stayed home. When I could not stop crying, it had been mother who held me, trying to comfort me.

When I had been born and father had held me, I knew there was love in his eyes, but at some point, that love had turned corrupt. I knew he still loved us and would never hurt us purposely, but Father was not the Father I thought he was.

"Mama!" Mother, no, she was Mama, looked surprised when I darted in and threw myself at her, hugging her. But she gamely hugged me back. I looked up at her.

"Mama, I love you." The smile that stretched across her face had me smiling back. She looked so happy just then, and it was only then that I realized, I had never told Mama outright that I loved her.

"I love you too, Hitomi, my sweet, beautiful eyes."

* * *

While Mama worked, I sat on her lap, eating some leftover miso soup. I watched her work, curious, but more hungry for the time being. Once I finished my breakfast, however, it was fair game.

"Mama?"

"Hm?" She paused in her reading to look at me.

"I can't read. Will you teach me?" She blinked, slightly taken back, but agreed none the less. On one condition though.

"I'll teach you, but only if you tell me why."

"I'm curious." And it was the honest truth. However, Mama, for some reason, started laughing.

"Of course, my curious little kitten."

"I like kittens." That brought out a whole new wave of laughter. I was not sure why, but that was ok. I had never heard Mama laugh so much. I needed to spend more time with Mama.

* * *

Mama patiently went over each and every word. Most of it was in hiragana, so it was easier to understand for me. Mama said when I was a little older she would teach me kanji.

"Too much at once will burn your brain." She told me, and I nodded, remembering cramming for exams in college. So much information at once had left me a zombie for days.

Writing would come later, maybe in a few days, when I had a basic understanding of the words.

My process felt slow, almost aggravatingly so. If I had not been enjoying spending time with Mama, I knew I would have been beyond frustrated. As it was, Mama decided it was time for a lunch break.

"I am not a prodigy of reading." I told her seriously, she did not laugh this time, but Mama still smiled.

"But you are still very quick at learning." I could pick out names and words like of, the, no, yes and some numbers and colors. Everything else left me at a loss.

"Only because Mama is teaching me." I was rewarded with another Mama laugh.


End file.
